On March 18, 2009, Harvard Law School's (HLS) Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice, the Harvard Environmental Law Society, and the Office for Sustainability (OFS) partnered for the first time to co-sponsor a screening of the award-winning 2008 documentary FLOW: For Love of Water. Footage from around the world, and interviews with scientists, engineers, activists, corporate executives, and government representatives provided viewers with an overview of the environmental, social, and economic issues surrounding a growing global crisis in water quality and availability. The film focused in particular on the degradation of our global water supply, the need for clean drinking water in many parts of the world, and the exacerbating influence of bottled water corporations on world water issues. Many viewers, including Jonathan Chapman, Environmental Procurement Coordinator at the University, were shocked by the film. "An uninterrupted supply of safe drinking water is something that we so often take for granted in the United States. The movie FLOW makes a powerful argument that no one's water is safe in a world where it is seen as a commodity rather than a human right."
FLOW was screened as part of broader efforts by the Law School’s Green Team and Graduate Green Living Program to increase awareness about the negative environmental and social impacts of bottled water. About forty members of the HLS and wider Cambridge communities attended the film, and were encouraged to take a free mug and to drink water served from pitchers. Maps depicting the locations of tap and filtered tap water on the law school campus were also on display. Additional refreshments were provided by Central Square’s Clear Conscience Café, which offers local and organic food and beverages.
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The movie FLOW makes a powerful argument that no one's water is safe in a world where it is seen as a commodity rather than a human right.